                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2023 February 2

                          Reflections on the 1970s
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Stern

   Explanation: The 1970s are sometimes ignored by astronomers, like this
   beautiful grouping of reflection nebulae in Orion - NGC 1977, NGC 1975,
   and NGC 1973 - usually overlooked in favor of the substantial glow from
   the nearby stellar nursery better known as the Orion Nebula. Found
   along Orion's sword just north of the bright Orion Nebula complex,
   these reflection nebulae are also associated with Orion's giant
   molecular cloud about 1,500 light-years away, but are dominated by the
   characteristic blue color of interstellar dust reflecting light from
   hot young stars. In this sharp color image a portion of the Orion
   Nebula appears along the bottom border with the cluster of reflection
   nebulae at picture center. NGC 1977 stretches across the field just
   below center, separated from NGC 1973 (above right) and NGC 1975 (above
   left) by dark regions laced with faint red emission from hydrogen
   atoms. Taken together, the dark regions suggest the region's popular
   moniker, the Running Man Nebula. At the estimated distance of Orion's
   dusty molecular cloud this running man would be about 15 light-years
   across.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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